Want to be an entrepreneur? Ask these 3 questions

I recently had Gregg Ward of the Gregg Ward Group on my podcast. I asked him about his motivation to become self-employed after years or corporate life. He then revealed to me three questions reluctant entrepreneurs should ask themselves before jumping into entrepreneurship. These questions helped him make his decision to start his business.

Can you do anything else besides entrepreneurship to be happy?

If you’re disgruntled at your job and don’t want to interview anywhere, perhaps entrepreneurship isn’t the best option for you. If you’d be happy working at another corporate job, brave the interviewing process to find that job.

Do you have a passion to do something and put your life on hold to do it?

Entrepreneurship can be hard, especially at the beginning. You may not have many (or any clients) and cash will be tight. You have to be passionate about what you’re doing to weather the storm.

Are you willing to lose sleep not knowing where the money is coming from?

Unlike at a corporate job, entrepreneurs typically don’t get paid consistently every other week. There’ll bust and boom times. If you’re anxious about this, the entrepreneur life is not for you.

Essentially, if your answer is yes to all three questions, entrepreneurship is to be avoided.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t present some thoughts to turn your “no” into a “yes”, though!

To the first question, how do you know that entrepreneurship wouldn’t make you happier than corporate life unless you take entrepreneurship for a test drive? Many people start their businesses part time while working a full time job. Why not try it to out to see where it goes? It may make you happier than your job, may make you a decent income so you can do it full time.

With the second question, people often put passion projects on the back burner because they don’t think they can make money doing them. If you’re able to see a progress, perhaps you’re more willing to put your life on hold to see it through.

The third question – this a tough one. Money concerns keep a lot of people up at right – entrepreneurs and employees alike. Employees feel comfort in knowing when they get paid. But they can lose their jobs at any time – without notice. What am I getting at? You never know where the money is coming from. Don’t let that be a reason to forego entrepreneurship.